Welcome to Vail

Tag Archives: Vail Snow

Lots of sunshine today. I went out early as I had to start work mid-day. The Vail groomers were nice and soft early morning. We did a number of runs in the Northwoods area. Highs are expected in the upper 30s today with more snow expected Wed or Thursday. Everything is open. If you are looking for some Vail lodging for this upcoming Martin Luther King weekend, we don’t have but a handful of rooms left, so let us know soon. Chris R.

Some Vail groomers in the early morning

From the top of the mountain looking towards Gore Range

Early morning sun and no one around

And last but not least, Stella the bull dog in the snow from a little while back. We are a Pet friendlyVail hotel, but as only 20% of our rooms accept pets, please let us know in advance when you make your reservations.

Still catching up on some posts regarding the snow. Not too much to report but that we are still picking up an inch or two every couple of days. They sure have the Golden Peak Terrain Park up and running. Kids are hucking off jumps left and right. Chris R.

Well, the Back Bowls are OPEN ! Chair 5 has been open for two days now and conditions are excellent. Vail’s ski conditions are really the best they have been all season. The snow that we received these past 6 days has really helped out. Plus, it is staying cold. Not sure how long it will last as there are plenty of people on the mountain. The coverage on the back side is better than on front. I think mainly because the Back Bowls just haven’t been skied on very much at this point. Rumors are that they’ll open China Bowl tomorrow. Chris R.

Halfway down Milt’s face and the snow is great.

You know what? I’m always curious if anyone reads these silly posts…. So post a “comment” below or send an e-mail and if you can name this run straight across on this picture, I’ll put a complimentary bottle of wine in your room the next time you are in town. Use our Vail ski area maps if you need to. (the first three to name it, win. And NO, you can’t win a bottle if you work at the front desk) Chris Ratzlaff

In the last two days we’ve received 6 inches of snow. 3 new inches new each day. But Beaver Creek was the winner with 7 inches reported just this morning. The new snow softened everything up and really improved conditions. But it is really cold out there right now. The High temps are in the single digits up on the mountain. They are predicting a bit of snow on Christmas day and evening. We saw them running Chair 5 in the Back Bowls. Does this mean the plan on opening some runs back there? The Antlers still has a couple of Vail condos for this weekend. Perhaps a 1 Bedroom and a 2 Bedroom. That’s it. Give us a call. Chris R.

Not much to report and even fewer pictures (oops, I deleted my photos). But Two Elk Lodge is now open and I have an exciting picture of that ! I had other pics of the back bowls but they were deleted, they are lost. Believe it or not, Chair 14 was the place to be today and other Antlers guests confirmed this. Chair 14 is that short and quick chair that goes up to the Two Elk restaurant. No one was there and the runs were all groomed to perfection. We are still holding out for more snow. They say Tuesday/Wednesday and they better be right. Rumors abound that they might open small portions of the Back Bowls but I still think they are holding out for more snow. If you are looking for some Vail lodging for New Year’s weekend we still have a couple of 2 Bedroom condos starting on December 30th (3 night minimum) Chris R.

Boy, it looks like it wants to snow but it just teases us. Another inch today with some good flakes falling early in the morning, but then the sun came out later in the day. Every little bit helps to keep things soft. Rumors that they might try to open Blue Sky Basin with access via Sleepy Time Cat-walks. We’ll see. Today I did a few runs with Marty Kovens out of Florida. He has been staying at the Antlers at Vail forever. This guy skis fast! I’m glad he didn’t mind waiting…… Chris R.

Marty wouldn’t allow me to get a picture of him, so I filled in (Chris R.)

Heading down Simba for the end of the day makes for some good carving.

O.k., here is the Press Report. Vail Back Bowls to open December 6th. Vail snow is piling up.

Additional snowfall on Wednesday evening and throughout the day on Thursday will allow Vail Mountain operations crews to expand terrain and lift offerings this weekend, boosting the total terrain to nearly 2,000 acres and 19 lifts. Vail has received an additional 11 inches of snow in the past 48 hours as of 1 p.m. today. In addition to currently open terrain, by Saturday, Dec. 6 the resort will offer terrain in the legendary Sun Down and Sun Up Bowls, accessible by the High Noon (Chair 5) and Sun Up (Chair 17) lifts, as well as terrain in the Highline Lift (Chair 10) area.

Wow, not too bad to have this much terrain open on December 6th. This is amazing!

A winter storm warning is in effect for Vail/Beaver Creek this week! However, we couldn’t wait another 17 days for Vail to open…instead we did what 100’s of other idiots did…we packed the car and headed to Arapahoe Basin. Again? Right now, A-Basin is like Great America, you wait in line for 30 minutes for 1 minute of fun. Here are some tips if you want to avoid the madness:

1. Arrive at 2pm. You will get 2 hours of solid runs in as everybody seems to leave A-Basin around that time.

2. If you go on a Sunday try to show up at the start of the Bronco game. Half of the lines disappeared this weekend as the Broncos got punked by the Dolphins. Sorry Denver! Look on the bright side, you just traded Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups (2004 Finals MVP).

3. If the lines are long head to the bar for a Bloody Mary. They are top-notch!